Heroes
Heroes are unique troops with individual names, stories, skills, attributes and equipment (all of which can be chosen by you). Like the player character, heroes never die and are only knocked unconscious. You can never station them in garrisons. If you are taken prisoner, Heroes may be forced to leave your party. Every Hero likes one other Hero and hates two others (they will usually tell you this after a battle). Often, they will talk to you when you are doing something which they do not like, such as failing quests or running low on food. They will also talk to you when you reach a certain point on the map, and tell you a bit about their history and how that particular location relates to it. If you part ways with a Hero, you can talk to a traveller in a tavern and he will tell you his or her location, for 30 denars. If the Hero you are looking for isn’t available, they probably have not yet respawned which may take a week or more to happen - be patient. Respawn can also be related to your Renown, so you may need to wait until it increases by a certain amount before they respawn. Recruitment Companions are found in taverns throughout Calradia. Their locations are random and they will change from time to time so it is important to check back at taverns regularly. Many of them require money before they join your party, but some will join for free. The Heroes The table below lists all of the heroes available to the player. Robbing refers to pillaging villages as well as robbing caravans, although demanding protection money from caravans and stealing cattle from villages is not objectionable. The 'Skills' column shows each Hero's best skills (usually level 3). Chart Eight heroes can be recruited with no conflicts. Since there are two distinct loops of conflict, you can choose one group of heroes from each loop, with two possible choices each. Customizing One of the biggest advantages Heroes have is that they can gain levels and develop their skills in the same way as you can. You can even customize their armor and weapons, outfitting them with exactly what you want them to use. To customize a Hero's abilities when they level up, open the party screen and talk to the hero you want to upgrade, then choose "Tell me about yourself" and you will see that Hero's character window. To customize their equipment do the same but choose "Let me see your equipment" and you will see the inventory. Just as with your own character, Heroes can only use equipment if they meet its minimum requirements. Specialization Each Companion leans toward a specialization. Certain skills will contribute to the party as a whole; others are personal or leader only (useless for Heroes). When a Hero's health falls to 30%, or below, the name will be shown in red text and any of their skills that were aiding the party will not work until they heal above 30%. Those with healing abilities should be kept at the bottom of the party list to ensure that they see less battle and therefore are less likely to be wounded too badly to heal others. Nobles In Mount&Blade: Warband, your companions can be made into lords and given towns, villages or castles. However, unless they are noble (see above) other lords will not accept them and hate you because of that. If a hero is made into a lord and defects from your faction, and said faction is then defeated, they can again be found in taverns and recruited to your party, but will retain their own coat of arms, their title, and the equipment they had as a lord. Be careful when choosing to appoint a companion as fief, as they replace their body armor with Heraldric Mail with Tabard, shield with Knightly Kite Shiled, mount with Courser, and weapons to Arming Sword, and Light Lance. They will not replace these items if their current equipment is superior (ex. If a companion is currently wearing Plate Armor, they will keep it, rather than replace it). However, they will always keep the head, hand, and leg armor they currently have equipped. Dislike As Emissary Sending heroes out to convince other lords that you should be the rightful ruler of Calradia can have a negative impact on morale for other heroes. This event only occurs in the Warband expansion. Marriage There is only one way to marry a hero, but you must be a female character to do so. Here is how you do it. Conquer a Castle or Town for yourself and start your own Kingdom. Conquer another one and give it to a MALE Hero (Making them your vassal). Get them to like you at nearly 100 % and propose that you get married. If they say yes in about a month you will be married to a hero. The Raiding Party If you get sick of playing the nice-to-peasants honorable knight, you probably want to have "heroes" that don't object to the frequent razing of villages in your party. It's also highly profitable, so the incentive for being evil is there. This chart consisting only of like minded heroes should help pick your party: Depending on your morale management skills, a -1 dislike factor should be easily manageable. An Early Troop Set Up The following is an example of a possible hero set up which will work well with early players. All these people will not have problems with each other, and most will willingly raid villages without protests. Additionally, many of them are nobles, allowing you to bestow fiefs upon them from your kingdom later in the game. Using them in your party for the early portion of the game makes them exceptionally powerful as they fight their own battles as your vassals. *Alayen: Oddly, his low initial level means that he gains the abilities you select faster. This makes him potentially one of the most powerful fighters later on. Recommended as a fighter and horse archer. Alternately, make him the party Pathfinder/Spotter to replace Deshavi or Klethi. Consider putting him with the archers if you do this. *Artimenner: An engineer, he will help with your sieges. Recommended as using a siege crossbow and staying with the archers of your battle line so as not to lose the benefit of his high Engineering and Tactics skills. *Baheshtur: An amazing horse archer (Starts with horse archery and power draw). A horse, bow, arrows, and two-handed sword is a practical equipment choice. *Borcha: A good early hero. Forge him into whatever kind of troop you would like. *Lezalit: While highly skilled with all weapons, his high intelligence makes him a good candidate to replace Jeremus as the party doctor. Similar to Artimenner, give him a siege crossbow and keep him away from combat as much as possible. *Matheld: One of the best heroes available, should be given the same load out as Lezalit, with different specs. *Firentis: Another excellent warrior, giving him a sword and bow is a good choice. His only problem is he is the only hero in this initial group who objects to raiding villages. Simply send him on a reconnaissance trip if you are going to be involved in such dirty work. *Rolf: Another good swordsman and a good overall fighter. Should be an early recipient of a horse. Once you have begun your own kingdom, cycle these heroes out of your party and replace them with the others in the game, who are not nobles and thus make a better second-half party. A Second-Half Party The following is an example of a possible hero set up which will work well in the second half of the game. While possible, it is not recommended that you begin with this team as its members are weaker and many have issues with raiding villages, a key source of early income. *Nizar: Will eventually be one of your best fighters, but can be a bit tricky in the beginning due to his low ability scores. *Katrin: While the weakest hero in the game due to her high starting level and wasted skill points, she can become a respectable fighter with enough experience. Recommend equipping her with a crossbow rather than bow so as to save skill points in Power Draw. *Marnid: While his Trade skill might seem useful at first, raising his Charisma to support increases in it is inefficient. He, Katrin, and Nizar should be the first part of your team that you pick up when you make Alayen, Firentis, and Baheshtur vassals of your burgeoning kingdom. *Ymira: The ultimate blank slate character, it is recommend you make her a copy of Artimenner. Her Tactics, Engineering, and later Training ability are vital to a high-class army and hers will fill the same gap. *Jeremus: Should be used the way he is, as a siege crossbow-wielding doctor. *Deshavi and Klethi: One of these two should be the party scout, keeping off the main battle line as an archer. The other can be a standard fighter/horse archer or a backup scout as you choose. *Bunduk: Resist the urge to leave him with a crossbow, instead raise his Power Draw skill to match his already substantial Power Strike and Riding abilities to make him a solid fighter. Category:Companions Category:Troops